"Movie Star" is the first documentary film to focus on the private side of Ms. Seberg, an actress from Marshalltown, Iowa. It explores her American and international film career, civil rights-era activism and her mysterious, untimely death in Paris.

The Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards is a monthly film competition with quarterly award ceremonies. "Movie Star," the feature documentary winner for the March edition, will screen in June during the a red-carpet ceremony held at Raleigh Studios in Los Angeles.

This is Fourth Wall's 11th honor from CRIFF, a nationwide contest open to movies with an Iowa connection such as setting, subject, shooting location or home base of the filmmakers, he said.

“I think because we won our first award for our first film at the 2006 CRIFF, this festival will always be special to us,” Mr. Rundle said. "Villisca: Living with a Mystery" won the Gold Eddy at the 2006 festival.

"River to River" takes viewers on a nostalgic classic-car journey through yesterday’s soda shops, filling stations, general stores, drive-ins, historic sites and roadside attractions that line U.S. 6 in Iowa. The documentary was inspired by Iowa U.S. Route 6 Tourist Association's Executive Director Dave Darby's research, photography and passion for preserving the historic highway.

The film was awarded the Gold Eddy in the Pro Documentary category and also received the Iowa Connection Award from Produce Iowa.

“I think because we won our first award for our first film at the 2006 CRIFF, this festival will always be special to us,” said producer Kelly Rundle. Villisca: Living with a Mystery won the Gold Eddy at the 2006 festival.

River to River director Kelly Rundle and Iowa Route 6's Executive Director Dave Darby during filming at the River to River Cruise in Brooklyn, Iowa.

The Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival is all about Iowa connections on-screen and behind the scenes. And Fourth Wall Films, based in Moline, Ill., is all about preserving the Midwest's "forgotten" history.

The event, founded in 2001, runs Friday and Saturday (April 1 and 2) at Collins Road Theatres in Marion. The 63 selected films - ranging from 2 minutes to 2 hours - include a mix of features, shorts, documentaries, music videos and experimental films from students, amateurs and professionals. They compete for gold and silver Eddy awards, audience choice and Iowa connection awards.

Fourth Wall's Seberg documentary is a direct result of networking at a film festival. Garry McGee of Elma, who had conducted a bevy of interviews with the late actress' family and friends, called the Rundles in Los Angeles after reading about Midwest screenings of their Villisca film. The conversation picked back up after the Rundles moved back to the Midwest in 2007 and ran into McGee at a Mason City film festival.

"We're always looking for Midwestern stories that have a local or regional following but deserve a much wider audience or awareness," Rundle said. "This was obviously one of those stories."

"Movie Star" is a tale of Hollywood and heartbreak, beginning when an unknown 17-year-old Iowa girl beat out 18,000 actresses to play St. Joan in Otto Preminger's 1957 film. The documentary goes behind the scenes of her rocky life in the international film spotlight, her civil rights activism that drew FBI attention, and her mysterious death in Paris in 1979 - deemed a "probable suicide." "That leaves room for doubt," Rundle said.

"I hope that audience members, when they see that film, see their own daughter or granddaughter or niece or sister or friend. I just think the story relates to people on that level."

Iowa U.S. Route 6 Tourist Association's Dave Darby. The documentary was inspired by Darby's research, photography and passion for preserving the historic highway and drawing attention to the small towns along the way.

The Highway 6 documentary, making its first film festival appearance, travels a more nostalgic route across Iowa. Taking on the form of a classic car cruise from Davenport to Council Bluffs, it looks at the towns and stories along this forgotten stretch of highway that weaves under and over Interstate 80 in places.

Rundle hopes the film inspires viewers to take their own weekend jaunt along the route, to discover hidden gems like Ladora, home to the secret writer of the "Nancy Drew" mysteries, or Dexter, site of a Bonnie and Clyde shootout.

03/17/2016

Emmy® nominated documentary filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle spent four years crisscrossing Iowa to film their crowd-pleasing documentary River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6. Audiences will get a chance to ‘join the journey’ when the film screens at the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival April 1 at 7:50pm and April 2 at 2:50pm at the Collins Road Theatres, 1462 Twixt Town Road, Marion, Iowa. Show times and ticket information will be available at www.crifm.org.

“Most travelers are unaware of the many colorful stories from the past around every turn in the road,” said producer Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films. “Iowa’s portion of the transcontinental Route 6 has a past that includes Bonnie and Clyde, Jesse James, Nancy Drew, Jack Kerouac, and the Great Race Across Iowa.”

Photo courtesy Dave Darby.

“With Interstate 80’s near universal use by travelers, Route 6 and the memories that define it have faded from the public’s consciousness,” said director Kelly Rundle, who will attend the film festival. “The film is a celebration of a journey.”

“Historic Route 6 is our own romantic little highway,” said Dimitri Makedonsky, owner of the Ladora Bank Bistro in Ladora, Iowa off of Route 6.

The one-hour documentary, which has been delighting capacity crowds at its showings, was inspired by the research and photography of Dave Darby, Executive Director of the Iowa Division of the Route 6 Tourist Association.

The documentary will continue its theatrical tour at film festivals and in art theaters, with broadcasts on Midwestern PBS stations slated for later this year. The film has been released nationally on DVD.

Photo courtesy the Spaulding Inn in Grinnell, Iowa--the Spaulding mansion is featured in the documentary.